Use of new scientific developments in regulatory risk assessments: challenges and opportunities

A Bayesian network-GIS probabilistic model for addressing human disturbance risk to ecological conservation redline areas

Population growth and associated ecological space occupation are posing great risks to regional ecological security and social stability. In China, "Ecological Conservation Redline" (ECR) that prohibited urbanization and industrial construction has been proposed as a national policy to resolve spatial mismatches and management contradictions. However, unfriendly human disturbance activities (e.g., cultivation, mining, and infrastructure construction) still exist within the ECR, posing a great threat to ecological stability and safety. In this article, a Bayesian network (BN)-GIS probabilistic model is proposed to spatially and quantitatively address the human disturbance risk to the ECR at the regional scale. The Bayesian models integrate multiple human activities, ecological receptors of the ECR, and their exposure relationships for calculating the human disturbance risk. The case learning method geographic information systems (GIS) is then introduced to train BN models based on the spatial attribute of variables to evaluate the spatial distribution and correlation of risks. This approach was applied to the human disturbance risk assessment for the ECR that was delineated in 2018 in Jiangsu Province, China. The results indicated that most of the ECRs were at a low or medium human disturbance risk level, while some drinking water sources and forest parks in Lianyungang City possessed the highest risk. The sensitivity analysis result showed the ECR vulnerability, especially for cropland, that contributed most to the human disturbance risk. This spatially probabilistic method can not only enhance model's prediction precision, but also help decision-makers to determine how to establish priorities for policy design and conservation interventions. Overall, it presents a foundation for later ECR adjustments as well as for human disturbance risk supervision and management at the regional scale.

How to Foster 'New Approach Methodology' Toxicologists

The need to reduce, refine and replace animal experimentation has led to a boom in the establishment of new approach methodologies (NAMs). This promising trend brings the hope that the replacement of animals by using NAMs will become increasingly accepted by regulators, included in legislation, and consequently more-often implemented by industry. The majority of NAMs, however, are still not very well understood, either due to the complexity of the applied approach or the data analysis workflow. A potential solution to this problem is the provision of better educational resources to scientists new to the area - showcasing the added value of NAMs and outlining various ways of overcoming issues associated with knowledge gaps. In this paper, the educational exchange between four institutions - namely, two universities and two SMEs - via a series of video training sessions, is described. The goal of this exchange was to showcase an exemplary event to help introduce scientists to non-animal approaches, and to actively support the development of resources enabling the use of alternatives to laboratory animals.

In Silico Methods for Environmental Risk Assessment: Principles, Tiered Approaches, Applications, and Future Perspectives

This chapter aims to introduce the reader to the basic principles of environmental risk assessment of chemicals and highlights the usefulness of tiered approaches within weight of evidence approaches in relation to problem formulation i.e., data availability, time and resource availability. In silico models are then introduced and include quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) models, which support filling data gaps when no chemical property or ecotoxicological data are available. In addition, biologically-based models can be applied in more data rich situations and these include generic or species-specific models such as toxicokinetic-toxicodynamic models, dynamic energy budget models, physiologically based models, and models for ecosystem hazard assessment i.e. species sensitivity distributions and ultimately for landscape assessment i.e. landscape-based modeling approaches. Throughout this chapter, particular attention is given to provide practical examples supporting the application of such in silico models in real-world settings. Future perspectives are discussed to address environmental risk assessment in a more holistic manner particularly for relevant complex questions, such as the risk assessment of multiple stressors and the development of harmonized approaches to ultimately quantify the relative contribution and impact of single chemicals, multiple chemicals and multiple stressors on living organisms.

Assessing ecological risks caused by human activities in rapid urbanization coastal areas: Towards an integrated approach to determining key areas of terrestrial-oceanic ecosystems preservation and restoration

Rapid urbanization and industrialization in the coastal zone have caused increasingly serious impacts on coastal ecosystems. It is necessary to assess the ecological risk caused by human activities to determine key areas of terrestrial-oceanic ecosystems preservation and restoration to ensure sustainable ecological management in the coastal zone. Key areas of ecosystem preservation and restoration were studied through the assessment of the impacts of ecological pressure sources related to human activities from the perspective of terrestrial-oceanic ecosystems, using the habitat risk assessment (HRA) and habitat quality (HQ) models in the Chinese coastal zone. The results showed that the impact of human activities on the terrestrial ecosystems in the South of China was significantly lower than that in the North. An improvement rate of habitat quality was noticed only in the south and central coastal areas when further away from industrial land. Agricultural production, urban expansion, and industrial pollution had major negative impacts on the habitat quality of terrestrial ecosystems in the Chinese coastal zone, and also threatened the health of marine ecosystems. The ecological risks caused by human activities in the offshore areas of northern Shandong and eastern Jiangsu were relatively low. Mineral development in the north, excessive nitrogen and phosphorus emissions from agricultural production in the south, and port operations were important drivers of increased ecological risks in offshore areas. There were regional spatial differences in the key ecosystem preservation and restoration areas. The provinces of Shandong, Jiangsu, Hebei, Liaoning, and Guangdong are key areas for strengthening the preservation and restoration of terrestrial-oceanic ecosystems. This study provides a reference for large-scale territorial spatial planning and ecosystems conservation.

Linking pesticide marketing authorisations with environmental impact assessments through realistic landscape risk assessment paradigms

Each year, the European Food Safety Authority, supported by a network of experts in the EU Member States, assesses and publishes the environmental risks of 30-40 pesticides active substances. The assessments support hundreds of national risk evaluations for marketing (re-)authorisations of Plant Protection Products. These prospective regulatory evaluations are based on worst-case scenarios in order to provide the high level of protection required by the EU legislations, and establishes the conditions for a correct use of the products including risk mitigations options. However, recent publications suggest that the desired high level of protection may not be achieved with the current risk assessment paradigm. The consideration of larger spatial scales and multiple stressors, including different pesticide uses, could improve the risk assessment process. A next step is the use of these larger spatial scales for evidence-based assessments, evaluating the overall impact of pesticide use on the European environment and biodiversity. Reaching this level would provide science-based support to the National Plans on sustainable use of pesticides and to the broader EU policies defined in the EU Environmental Action Programmes. Recent technological developments, as well as policy efforts, have solved two of the key issues blocking this progress in the past. Data availability and technical capacity for handling Big Data are no longer an unaffordable obstacle. The current proposal presents an alternative environmental risk assessment paradigm, integrating use patterns and pesticides properties with landscape ecotypes and eco-regions, covering the variability of the European agro-environmental conditions. The paradigm is suggested to be implemented in a spatially explicit conceptual model, using the ecosystem services approach and vulnerable key driver species to represent the service providing units. This approach would allow mapping the likelihood and magnitude of the impact of pesticide use on ecosystems functions, environmental resources, and biodiversity at the EU scale.

An integrative omics approach to unravel toxicity mechanisms of environmental chemicals: effects of a formulated herbicide

The use of integrative molecular approaches can aid in a comprehensive understanding of the effects of toxicants at different levels of biological organization, also supporting risk assessment. The present study aims to unravel the toxicity mechanisms of a widely used herbicide to the arthropod Folsomia candida exposed in a natural soil, by linking effects on reproduction, proteomics and genome-wide gene expression. The EC50 effects on reproduction over 4 weeks was 4.63 mg glyphosate/kg of soil. The formulation included a polyethoxylated tallowamine as an adjuvant, which at 50% effect on reproduction had an estimated concentration of 0.87-1.49 mg/kg of soil. No effects were observed on survival and reproduction when using the isolated active substance, pointing the toxicity of the formulated product to the co-formulant instead of the active ingredient, glyphosate. RNA sequencing and shotgun proteomics were applied to assess differential transcript and protein expressions between exposed and control organisms in time, respectively. Specific functional categories at protein and transcriptome levels were concordant with each other, despite overall limited correlations between datasets. The exposure to this formulation affected normal cellular respiration and lipid metabolism, inducing oxidative stress and leading to impairment in biological life cycle mechanisms such as molting and reproduction.

Application of omics data in regulatory toxicology: report of an international BfR expert workshop

Advances in omics techniques and molecular toxicology are necessary to provide new perspectives for regulatory toxicology. By the application of modern molecular techniques, more mechanistic information should be gained to support standard toxicity studies and to contribute to a reduction and refinement of animal experiments required for certain regulatory purposes. The relevance and applicability of data obtained by omics methods to regulatory purposes such as grouping of chemicals, mode of action analysis or classification and labelling needs further improvement, defined validation and cautious expert judgment. Based on the results of an international expert workshop organized 2014 by the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment in Berlin, this paper is aimed to provide a critical overview of the regulatory relevance and reliability of omics methods, basic requirements on data quality and validation, as well as regulatory criteria to decide which effects observed by omics methods should be considered adverse or non-adverse. As a way forward, it was concluded that the inclusion of omics data can facilitate a more flexible approach for regulatory risk assessment and may help to reduce or refine animal testing.

Analysis of the ecotoxicity data submitted within the framework of the REACH Regulation. Part 2. Experimental aquatic toxicity assays

This paper summarises the aquatic ecotoxicity data submitted in the REACH(1) registration dossiers and disseminated by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA(2)). The analysis describes both the guidelines and the species mostly used by registrants. Non-OECD guidelines have been extensively used, in particular in covering of fish and aquatic invertebrate studies, but the main concern is that in 22-36% of the cases, depending on the endpoint, no information on the methodological approach and potential equivalences to test guidelines has been provided. As expected, most studies were conducted with those species typically used in laboratory ecotoxicity testing; nevertheless, the database provides a broad range of available species, covering the most relevant taxonomic groups for both freshwater and marine systems, although most are just occasionally used. This species diversity is essential for higher tier testing strategies, including the use of Species Sensitivity Distribution approaches. The assessment suggests that collecting available information has been the main approach used by registrants to fulfil their REACH information requirements for this first REACH registration deadline. Many studies are disclosed for the first time, and all are available through searchable web tools.